Polar bear killed by Avian flu in Alaska

Posted on 3. January 2024 by Rolf Stange

It is not a good start into the news year 2024.

The news came from Alaska: the Avian influenza virus is shown to be the cause of death of a polar bear for the first time, as the local newspaper Alaska Beacon writes.

Potentially lethal also for him: polar bear in Spitsbergen.

Specialists of the Division of Environmental Health – State Veterinarian say that this did not come as a surprise, as avian flu has killed numerous mammals of various species before, including various seals, red fox, brown bears, black bears and grizzly bears.

In contrast to earlier outbreaks of the Avian flu such as in 2014-15, the current outbreak seems to be long-lived and the virus seems capable of long-term survival in wildlife populations including mammals. The current virus has already had severe impacts on seabird populations in north Norway, where mainly kittiwakes were affected, as well as a large kittiwake colony on the island of Hopen which is part of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The virus is also found in the Southern Ocean, including the Falkland Islands and South Georgia; in South America, it killed large numbers of wild animals including not only seabirds but also sea lions, mainly in Chile and Peru, as reported e.g. by the WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health).

The health risk for humans is described as “very low”, but the Avian influenza virus has to be considered a long-lived threat for wildlife populations that are already under pressure from climate change and, in many cases, other threats.

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